Erika Guay

Professor Erika Guay hails from Virginia, holds a B.A. from Gettysburg College, and a M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. She is a member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), Kennedy Center American College Theatre Association (KCACTF), Phi Beta Kappa, and Alpha Psi Omega. Her current research and design work focuses on Ecoscenography and Sustainability in Theatrical Design. She is the current Costume Shop Manager and resident puppet wizard. She also designs costumes, scenery, properties, and projections for the department. 

Erika is the faculty mentor for the many student designers who regularly work on department productions. She also provides mentorship for design, technology, and management students for presentations at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and other conference opportunities.

Erika teaches across campus and regularly offers a Cardinal Foundation Seminar, Fashion and Sustainability. It is a course that is dear to her as it combines her passion for ecology, costuming, and working with first-year students all in one course. Her Stagecraft Skills class is another favorite as it uses her versatility in design to enrich majors, certificates, minors, and general education students. 

 

Erika’s love of puppets began while studying bunraku with the Tonda Ningyo Troupe in Biwa-cho, Japan. From this experience she performed with the Bunraku Bay Puppet Company at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. She has designed and built puppets for many productions including an award winning puppet for the Opera Barnum’s Bird, many innovate animal puppets for the children’s tour show, Wiley and the Hairy Man, and bunraku inspired puppets for the SUNY Plattsburgh premier of The Bamboo Princess. She continues this work in her World Puppetry class. 

Erika is a committed community member of the North Country. She has worked on productions for the North Country Ballet Ensemble, Adirondack Ballet Company, Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake, Lake Placid Center for the Arts, The Depot Theatre in Westport, and at The Strand Theatre in downtown Plattsburgh. Erika helps her husband with his maple syrup operation, raises and sells lamb locally, entertains her students with tales of chickens and gardening, while also raising her two kids.